Renowned author Ken Cloke will facilitate.
Article by Scott Iwasaki for the Park Record (May 10, 2024)
The need for civil discourse rises during times of division, like what is happening in the country and world today.
And it’s important for people to know they can still be friends and part of a community even if they disagree with one another.
That lesson will be conveyed during the Mountain Mediation Center‘s upcoming “From Contention to Conversation,” which will be led by author and co-founder of Mediators Beyond Borders International Ken Cloke, a world-recognized mediator and dialogue facilitator, on Thursday, May 16, at the Park City Hospital’s Blair Education Center, 900 Round Valley Drive.
Registration is now open for two different options, said Gretchen Lee, the nonprofit’s executive director.
I think part of the reason why it’s been challenging to engage with each other is that people don’t want to do harm or make things worse.” Kris Campbell, Mountain Mediation Center’s director of development
“You can come all day, which will be an in-depth training to facilitate conversations,” she said,
“or there is an afternoon option if you just want to participate in the conversations. That’s when those who attended in the morning will practice some of the skills they learned.”
Registration deadline for the all-day option, which runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and includes lunch, is Monday, May 13. People who want to attend the afternoon session can register up until May 16. (See schedule below)
The event ties into Mountain Mediation Center’s mission, which is to “build local capacities for peace, advocate for mediation and facilitate the transformation of conflict globally,” Lee said.
“The neat thing about this is that it totally overlaps with our ‘Let’s Talk’ training that we’ve been doing in the community,” she said. “This workshop will allow people to practice those ‘Let’s Talk’ skills.”
Leadership Park City‘s Class 29 initiated “Let’s Talk” as its class project. Leadership Park City is a community program that encourages and trains new leaders and provides a long-term, group-oriented learning opportunity.
“They got us involved, based on the work we do, and when the class ended in October, we took ‘Let’s Talk’ over,” Lee said.
“Let’s Talk” features four different modules — self awareness, active listening, communicating to connect, and finding common ground, which are all needed during this divisive time, said Chris Campbell, Mountain Mediation Center’s director of development.
“This is what the Leadership Class found as they were going around getting input about their project,” he said. “When they talked with nonprofits, government officials and businesses, they saw a need to be able to talk civilly with each other, be more effective through our communication and work through some of this discord that is so common these days.”
Those who participate in the “Let’s Talk” initiative, have enjoyed learning its principles and skills, Campbell said.
“Once they learn them, their next question is, ‘What’s next?’” he said. “So there’s an interest in wanting to engage and use these skills.”
Those skills are important if people are going to start having civil conversations again, Campbell said.
“I think part of the reason why it’s been challenging to engage with each other is that people don’t want to do harm or make things worse,” he said. “So, this Ken Cloke training that is coming up will give people the skills and confidence to go into these conversations, be productive and not cause harm. And the afternoon conversation is a chance for people to practice talking about these challenges with one another.”
Lee discovered Cloke after she took in one of his training sessions pre-COVID in 2019.
“He’s a very well-respected and renowned person in his field,” she said. “I found out that he would be coming to the Utah Council of Conflict Resolution symposium as the keynote speaker on May 17, so, I thought it would be a great opportunity to bring him up to Park City the day before.”
Campbell said learning to disagree with one another and still stay in connection is “powerful and magical.”
“It’s (amazing) to be in a space where you can talk strongly about things you disagree with in a way that helps you feel heard and helps other people to feel heard and reach a place of better understanding,” he said. “There is a way to disagree and stand strongly for your own opinions without needing to attack and denigrate the other person. When you can have that respect for each other, the conversation is so rewarding to participate in.”
‘From Contention to Conversation’ schedule
- 9:45 — Check-in and coffee
- 10 a.m. — Facilitator training begins with Ken Cloke
- Noon — Lunch
- 12:45 p.m. — Afternoon participant check-in
- 1 p.m. — “What Is a Facilitated Dialogue?” by Ken Cloke
- 1:30 p.m. — Conversations led by facilitators begin
- 3 p.m. — Debrief dialogs led by Ken Cloke
- 4 p.m. — Event ends
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